Share this image

Fall flooding in the Midwest

View Gallery

A flooded baseball field in the town of Renner, S.D., is shown in this aerial photograph from Sept. 26. Dozens of homes flooded after the Big Sioux River overflowed. Dirk Lammers/AP

Shane Chapman carries his girlfriend, Megan Paskey, through six inches of water covering parts of West Conant Street in Portage, Wis., Sept. 26. A levee along the Wisconsin River failed Sunday, flooding the access road leading to a park area and cutting off any residents who did not heed daylong warnings to evacuate. Lyn Jerde/Portage Daily Register/AP

From the roof of her family's garage, Carrie Larson, front, watches flood waters rise around her house in nearby Darts Park in Owatonna, Minn., on Sept. 23. David Joles/The Star Tribune/AP

Flooding in Baltic, S.D., is seen on Sept. 25. Three to four inches of rain last week pushed the Big Sioux River, which had been running high all summer, over its banks from Brookings south to Sioux Falls. Todd Epp/Sioux Falls Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol/AP

Tom Lee retrieves a basketball that was floating down the Straight River after it flooded near downtown Owatonna, Minn., on Sept. 22. Marlin Levison/The Star Tribune/AP

This family home in Mankato, Minn., starts the cleanup process on Sept. 25 after being overrun by the Minnesota River on Sept. 24. Wright Braudt/Mankato Free Press/AP

Isaiah Smith (r.) and Henry Smith watch water from the Cedar River flow over the dam on Sept. 24 in Austin, Minn. Eric Johnson/Austin Daily Herald/AP

Water that overflowed from the Big Sioux River sits in the town of Renner, S.D., in this aerial photograph from Sept. 26. Dirk Lammers/AP

A large sinkhole is seen along Lemond Rd., near Kim Lane in Owatonna, Minn. on Sept. 23. Heavy rains have caused flooding in numerous locations in southeastern Minnesota, including Owatonna where the Maple Creek spilled over its banks. David Joles/The Star Tribune/AP

Flood waters surrounding a farm near Renner, S.D., are shown in this aerial photograph from Sept. 26. Dozens of homes flooded after the Big Sioux River overflowed. Dirk Lammers/AP

Water is pumped out of Jeff Dube's basement as he stands in his flooded garage while rising water surrounds his home in Owatonna, Minn., on Sept. 23. David Joles/The Star Tribune/AP

Flooded homes are seen in Trent, S.D., on Sept. 25. Todd Epp/Sioux Falls Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol/AP

Members of the Columbia County, Wis., dive team (from l.) Donald Hehl, Thorne W. Wittstruck, and Stuart Fryck, stand ready to offer assistance to people stranded in flood areas in the wake of the Wisconsin River levee's potential breach, on Sept. 26 in Portage, Wis. The Caledonia levee along the Wisconsin River later failed, flooding the access road leading to a park area and cutting off any residents who did not heed daylong warnings to evacuate. Lyn Jerde/Portage Daily Register/AP

Share this image:

Sophisticated and lethal, growing in number, Islamic State and other extremist groups won't become a global force. Here's why.

BySeth G. Jones, ContributorMarch 29, 2015

Raqqa Media Center of the Islamic State Group/AP

Mullah Abdul Rauf Khadim looked like any ubiquitous insurgent commander in southern Afghanistan. He had a sunbaked complexion, serried black beard, charcoal eyes, and the usual accessory – an AK-47 slung over his shoulder.